This Time Around
by hey cool
Summary: Lizzie and Gordo, both successful adults, have built their lives not knowing the truth. But, with a chance meeting...
1. Lizzie's Story

_A/N: New story!!! I had the inspiration for this when I came across an article in a magazine about Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. Don't ask. But, some information-Gordo is a movie director, and Lizzie is a pop star...think Mandy Moore, who wants to break into serious acting. She is "dating" Adam Mercer (name I pulled out of my head), a British singer-songwriter kind of like John Mayer. So, here it goes...   
_

* * *

**_"THIS TIME AROUND"  
by hey cool_**

* * *

Lizzie ran and ran, but no matter how fast she ran, Gordo was always the same distance away from her. He stood in the same spot and yelled at her to go away, but Lizzie remained undaunted in her chase.  
  
Suddenly, the ground started to shake underneath her. It opened up, and she started to slip through the crack. She tried to hold on, but her efforts were to no avail.  
  
Lizzie was about to hit the ground, until suddenly...  
  
She awoke with a sudden twitch. She rubbed her head, as her neck was very sore.  
  
"Darn it...I fell asleep on the couch again."  
  
She climbed the stairs of her New York penthouse to her room, and pulled on her robe. Lizzie then went to the room next door, where she found her daughter already up and playing with her dolls.  
  
"Knock, knock. Good morning sweetheart," Lizzie said, smiling at Kylie.  
  
"Good morning mommy," the six year old replied. Her face was framed by soft, dark curls, and her blue eyes shone brightly. "Barbie and Ken are going to get married."  
  
"Again?"  
  
"Well, we just bought Barbie a new dress, so I thought that they could have another wedding just for fun."  
  
Lizzie smiled at her daughter's logic, and that way she looked exactly like Gordo when she was explaining something.  
  
Kylie's face was overcome with a look of curiosity, as a question was about to pop out of her mouth.  
  
"Mom, did you ever get married?"  
  
Lizzie didn't know how to answer that question.  
  
"Well...not really...."  
  
"What about my daddy? Did you ever get married?"  
  
Lizzie panicked, but she just resorted back to the answer she always used.  
  
"Kylie...you know that your father and I were best friends, and he was a great guy, but..." she replied, trailing off as she always did. "I'll tell you about it when you get older.  
  
"Okay," she said quietly, before she sprung to the next thought. "Can we go to the movies today?"  
  
"Actually, Mike is going to come over, and we are going to work on some promotional stuff for my new album."  
  
"Ewww...I don't like that guy," Kylie said, wrinkling her nose at the mention of Lizzie's manager.  
  
"Kate and Miranda are coming too, and Miranda said she would take you anywhere you wanted."  
  
"YAY!" Kylie exclaimed. "Can we go to dinner tonight?"  
  
"No, we were just going to eat in tonight. Adam is coming over."  
  
Kylie's face fell with disappointment.  
  
"Why can't we go out?"  
  
"It's complicated, sweetie. You will understand later. Now, go get ready for Miranda."  
  
She kissed her daughter on the forehead, and Kylie took off running as the doorbell rang.  
  
Lizzie looked through the window, and there was standing Miranda.  
  
"Hey, senorita. Here, I brought you this. Figured you would get a few laughs," she greeted Lizzie, handing her a magazine.  
  
Lizzie glanced at the headline.  
  
_HILARY DUFF AND ADAM MERCER EXPECTING?  
  
_She scrolled down to read the rest of the article.  
  
_RECENT PHOTOS SUGGEST THAT MS. DUFF HAS THE PROVERBIAL 'BUN IN THE OVEN'. BUT WOULD THIS RUIN HER OTHERWISE VIRGINAL APPEARENCE? TURN TO PAGE 17 FOR DETAILS...  
  
_"Oh, if they only knew," Lizzie said, handing the tabloid back to Miranda.  
  
"What would Mike say about this?" Miranda asked. "We have worked so hard to build this reputation," she said, imitating Lizzie's publicist.  
  
"Yeah, but sometimes I wonder if it was all worth it. I mean, when you have to hide the fact that you have a daughter, use a stage name, and date someone who you don't even like very much-"  
  
"Adam? He is a cutie."  
  
"Yeah, but he is the cockiest jerk ever," Lizzie said with a sigh. "I wish Gordo-"  
  
"No, you don't. Stop thinking about Gordo. He did the worst thing possible to you," Miranda interrupted. "He completely ran away from you and Kylie."  
  
"Speaking of it, she asked about her dad again today. What should I tell her?"  
  
"Besides the fact that he is a spineless creep who dumped us the minute he got you pregnant?"  
  
Lizzie playfully hit Miranda on the shoulder.  
  
"Stop that. I loved him."  
  
"But did he really love you? I tell you, if I ever saw him again, I don't know what I would do..."  
  
Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of Kate Sanders, who was also Lizzie's personal assistant.  
  
"Hello, hello! I brought breakfast for our little meeting," she said in a singsong voice. "What were you guys talking about?"  
  
"Gordo," Lizzie and Miranda replied in unison.  
  
"I'd like to wring his neck," Kate said angrily.  
  
As Kate and Miranda chattered about their lives, Lizzie couldn't help but drift away. Sure she was the richest popstar in the United States, and was dating People Magazine's number one hottest bachelor, but she never did seem quite happy.  
  
She excused herself to her room, where she pulled out a very worn piece of paper.  
  
_DEAR LIZZIE, I AM REALLY SORRY, BUT I DON'T THINK I CAN HANDLE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING A FATHER RIGHT NOW. I HAVE TOO MUCH THAT IS GOING FOR ME, AND I REALLY DON'T WANT TO CARE FOR OUR MISTAKE..._  
  
A tear dropped onto the letter, and Lizzie carefully folded it back into its envelope.  
  
She still believed that maybe Gordo didn't really write that letter. It was farfetched, but she still could never believe that David Gordon, the boy who loved Lizzie with all his heart, could even be capable of writing that.  
  
Then again, she also thought that her parents would have been supportive of her descision to keep that baby. Instead they kicked her out of their house, and Lizzie was left to fend for herself. Her best friends, Kate and Miranda, came to her aid, and the three of them left for New York City. Lizzie tried her best to stay in school, and get a degree, while keeping her job as a waitress.  
  
Kate and Miranda helped too, and the three of them got a very small apartment right next to the junior college that Lizzie attended.  
  
The two of them also worked while attending college, and money was tight, especially when Lizzie had to go on maternity leave. But they made it through, and Kylie Mcguire was born. The three of them mutually decided that they would not give her Gordo's last name.  
  
Lizzie decided not to go back to waitressing, instead she decided to pursue her lifelong dream. She was discovered at an audition by Mike, and everything was a whirlwind from there. 


	2. Gordo's Story

**_A/N: Little bit of clarification....Lizzie Mcguire is going under the stage name of Hilary Duff, sorry about the confusion...On with the story!  
_**

* * *

I read through the memo once more, my assistant standing eagerly beside me, awaiting my descision.  
  
"Would you be interested?" he asked. "Think of all the fame this could bring you."  
  
I sighed impatiently.  
  
"I direct small, independent documentaries, not MTV reality shows," I said once again, trying to get my point across. "Besides, I don't know if I could do a TV show."  
  
"Mr. Johnson, this Mike guy, he is her manager, and he really wants you for the show. He has seen your work, and he is a huge fan."  
  
"I'll consider it, and that is all that I will committ to. Who is this Hilary Duff anyways?" I asked, flipping through my other papers.  
  
"Bubblegum popstar, but she wants to be a serious actress. She recently dyed her hair dark brown to distinguish herself."  
  
"Don't they all want to be serious actresses?" I asked again, rolling my eyes.  
  
"Yeah, but at least this one writes her own music."  
  
"She does? What are her songs?"  
  
"So Yesterday, Why not, Come Clean, and some other songs like that."  
  
"Really?" I asked. I had heard some of these songs on the radio. "How do you know all of this?"  
  
"My daughter is a huge fan," he said. "Please consider this, Mr. Johnson."  
  
I thought for another moment, but all I could think about were the perks that this could bring me.  
  
"I guess..."  
  
"Great! I'll get right back to her manager."  
  
My assistant rushed back to the phone at his desk, to let Mike know of the good news. Meanwhile, I picked up the latest copy of the National Enquirer. I had a subscription because I liked to know what they said about me.  
  
I looked at the main headline.  
  
_HILARY DUFF AND ADAM MERCER EXPECTING?  
_  
So this was the famous Hilary Duff. I tried to get a better look at the girl's face, but the picture was way too grainy. This girl did look like she was expecting, but even I knew how much they doctored those photos.  
  
My eyes then wandered to the tiny headline at the corner of the front page.  
  
_DANIEL JOHNSON: IS HE GAY?  
_  
I laughed out loud. This stuff is hysterical!  
  
_SOURCES TELL US THE REAL REASON WHY THE INDEPENDENT FILM DIRECTOR NEVER BRINGS A DATE TO AWARD SHOWS. THE SEXY BACHELOR DOES NOT REALLY HAVE A THING FOR WOMEN...  
_  
I had been getting this sort of attention ever since I won the Oscar for Best Documentary, and people started to hail me as "the next Steven Spielberg." So far, I have been linked to numerous different actresses, (and now I'm probably going to be linked to several different actors as well), I have had a near fatal illness, and I had a supposed Las Vegas wedding with a complete stranger.  
  
Too bad that they can't dig up my past, though. I always direct my films under the name of Daniel Johnson, and that it what the public knows me as. Not that I would really mind them finding out the story of Lizzie Mcguire, my first love.

* * *

FLASHBACK  
  
I ran up to my room so I could get ready for work, but on my bed was a single envelope, addressed to me. I tore it open, not knowing what it could be. But, the surprise that I got was terrible.  
  
_DEAR GORDO,  
  
I AM TERRIBLY SORRY, BUT I CANNOT GO ON LEADING YOU ON LIKE THIS ANYMORE. YOU SEE, DURING SPRING BREAK I MET SOMEONE ELSE, SOMEONE THAT I LOVE WITH ALL OF MY HEART. THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS I AM AFRAID THAT I HAVE ONLY BEEN USING YOU. I DON'T REALLY LOVE YOU, AND I DOUBT THAT I EVER HAVE TRULY LOVED YOU. I MUST HAVE MISTAKEN FRIENDSHIP FOR LOVE.   
  
LIZZIE  
_

* * *

I wanted to talk to Lizzie again, because I still held the hope that maybe it was all a misunderstanding. But she left soon after I got that letter, and her parents would not even claim her as their daughter. I figured that she probably ran off to be with her lover.  
  
That is the real reason that I have the enigma of Hollywood. Why at every award show, there I am without a date. My heart was torn out and stomped on by a girl named Lizzie Mcguire.  
  
I still managed to make it through, going to the USC film school on a scholarship. Soon after I graduated, I made a documentary that was sort of autobiographical, but I set it after someone else's life. My film won first place at the Sundance Film Festival, and also the Oscar for Best Documentary.  
  
But with all of these successes, there is still a hole that was left in my heart the day that Lizzie left me. 


	3. Reunion

I pulled my dark brown hair into a ponytail and looked at myself in the mirror. There was no way that I was going to be able to get used to not having blonde hair, but this was the best hair color for a "serious actress."  
  
I pack all of my stuff to work out into a bag, and grab a quick breakfast before running out the door. Kylie is spending a day with Miranda and Kate, once again, and I am due for some much needed time at the gym.  
  
Nobody is on the treadmill, so I jump on and put on my headphones. The first thing I hear is my first single, and I realized that I grabbed Kylie's CD player. Kylie loves to listen to my songs, and my therapist told me that she likes to hear my voice when I am gone on promotional tours and such.  
  
Quickly I turned it off, not wanting to hear the naive stuff that my fan base demands from me. I just want to seperate myself from that person that everybody thought I was not too long ago, which is why I quickly agreed to dye my hair, and date Adam.  
  
I keep running on the treadmill, my heart pounding faster and faster. Sweat is gathering on my forehead, but I still can't stop. Lately the pressure has been on me to lose more weight, and Mike fears that I might lose some of my male fans if I gain any more weight. This has been unusually hard lately, as I have had the strangest cravings.  
  
I am lost in my own little world until my cell phone rings, and I burst out of my trance. I quickly flip it open to discover that it is Mike.  
  
"Hilary! Guess what?"  
  
"What?" I groggily answered. Probably another appearence that I would be required to make.  
  
"Daniel Johnson."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"He agreed to direct your show."  
  
Instantly I cheered up. This show was hopefully going to transform me into a serious actress type. I was inspired with this idea when I saw what the Newlyweds show did for Jessica Simpson.  
  
"That's great!"  
  
"Yeah I know. We are going to meet with him at your townhouse today at four to discuss our visions, and hopefully we may start filming soon. Ciao!"  
  
The phone clicked off and I put the phone back in my bag. Suddenly, a nauseous feeling overcame me, and I rushed to the bathroom. I emerged from the stall after throwing up, but still feeling like crud.   
  
I looked in the mirror at myself. I looked absolutely horrible, with dark circles underneath my eyes, and I looked rather tired and pale.  
  
All I wanted to do was go back to sleep, but I was scheduled to have lunch with Adam.  
  
-----  
  
Adam and I met at a sidewalk cafe, of course, we sat outside so everyone could see us together.  
  
He spent most of the time talking on his cell phone, while I read a book.  
  
Adam ended his conversation and flashed that famous Mercer smile at me.  
  
"So, Hilary. How have you been doing lately?" he asked. Even though we really had no chemistry, it still was hard to resist his charm.  
  
"We got a director for my show."  
  
"Really?" he asked, seeming more interested in his salad.  
  
"Yes," I replied, scooting my chair a little closer to him. I was too beginning to learn some of the publicity stunts that were pulled. "Adam, I'm going to have to leave now," I whispered in his ear. "See you later."  
  
He smiled, and blew me a kiss. We did have our moments, few and far between.  
  
I quickly returned back to my townhouse for some much needed rest, and I completely forgot about my appointment.  
  
Mike came to my bedroom later, and seeing that I was currently incapacitated, called Daniel and told him that we would be having a dinner meeting at eight.  
  
He woke me up though, and right when I got up, I had that same urge to throw up whatever was in my stomach. This had been going on for quite some time, and I thought that it had been a bug or something. But now I was questioning if it was something bigger than that.  
  
Oh  
  
My  
  
Gosh.  
  
Why couldn't I see it for the second time? Cravings, weight gains, sickness, constant exhaustion...the list went on and on.  
  
No...I couldn't be. Adam and I never...oh no.  
  
There was that party two weeks before, and he and I had a little too much to drink. Or a lot too much to drink. Anyways, the next morning we woke up in a apartment on the next floor, without any recollection of the night before.   
  
I took a test to confirm what I was trying to deny.  
  
After seeing the results, I pulled on my robe and went downstairs where Mike was sitting at my kitchen table doing paperwork.  
  
"Mike...we need to talk. And Adam needs to be here too."  
  
"You two aren't going to break up or something?"  
  
"No...just call him."  
  
A phone call and a few moments later, a nervous looking Adam showed up. He was probably told to prepare for the worst, and he was probably dreading us not being a couple, because it was helping his career as well. Our relationship made him seem more sensitive each day.  
  
"So...what's up?" he asked, twiddling his thumbs.  
  
"Remember that party that we went to, and we both had too much to drink, and we woke up in that stranger's bed?"  
  
"No," he replied, looking at Mike's shocked face. "Yes. But we didn't.."  
  
"Yes we did, Adam. We woke up with no knowledge of the previous night, and we were in a stranger's bed...and I'm pregnant."  
  
The room was quiet for a second, and Mike's mouth dropped down to the floor in shock. Suddenly, a sly smile escaped his lips.  
  
"This is what we've been looking for!"  
  
Adam and I were both very confused.  
  
"I need to call People, or US magazine, and we can formally announce your engagement."  
  
Engagement?  
  
"And then, in a couple of months, we will announce that you two are having a child."  
  
I raised my eyebrows in shock.  
  
"This could work out for the better. What more signifies adulthood than marriage?" he asked hypothetically. "I'm going to order a pizza for our meeting."  
  
As he walked off to the kitchen, Adam looked up at me.  
  
"Well, he took this a lot better than I would of thought he would," he said in that charming accent of his. "I guess we are getting married now."  
  
"I guess."  
  
Mike walked back into the room.   
  
"Now lets do this nice and proper. Ask her."  
  
Adam looked at me and half-smiled as he bent down on his knees.  
  
"Hilary Duff, would you like to marry me?"  
  
"Sure," I replied.  
  
"I don't have a ring or anything," he said, fishing around in his pocket, "so I will tie this string around your finger."  
  
"Great, now we are good and engaged, so let's get ourselves ready for our dinner meeting."  
  
I went upstairs, and tried to fix my rather ragged appearance. I took a quick shower, and pulled my hair into a sleek bun. I used some concealer and a quick swipe of lip gloss, and I actually looked pretty good in my sleeveless black dress.  
  
It was only seven, so I got a glass of water and sat at my kitchen table. The doorbell rang but I did not rush to get, instead Daniel Johnson and his assistant were greeted by Adam and Mike, who were sitting casually in the living room.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Johnson. I'm Mike, and this is Adam Mercer."  
  
"Oh, aren't you and Hilary dating?"  
  
"Actually she just agreed to marry me. You two are the first to find out."  
  
"Congratultions!"  
  
As I heard the flurry of voices in the living room, something about this Daniel Johnson's voice was unmistakable. I ran to the living room, still holding my glass of water and stopped dead in my tracks.  
  
There he was in my living room. He still had his same curly locks, but he had changed a little. He had grown a little, and filled out a little. Gordo was not the scrawny little kid he used to be. He was wearing faded jeans, an old 80's rock band concert shirt, and ratty old converse tennis shoes.  
  
I dropped my glass on the floor.  
  
"Ahhh, and here she is now," his assistant said, and Gordo turned around to face me. His eyes widened as he saw me.  
  
"Lizzie?!"  
  
I gulped, and exclaimed, "Gordo?!"  
  
Everyone else in the room looked at each other with looks of confusion.  
  
"You two know each other?" Adam asked, breaking the silence.  
  
"I can't work with him," I said, running up to my bedroom. As I started up the stairs, I began to cry.  
  
I heard whispers from downstairs.  
  
"This should be interesting," Gordo said.   
  
The understatement of the year. 


	4. Rendevous in the Park

After quick introductions to Adam Mercer, Mike, and everyone else that was in the room, we stood around waiting for Hilary to show up.  
  
I heard the distinct sound of glass dropping on the floor.  
  
"Ahhh, and here she is now," my assistant Kevin said, and I turned around to face her, who I assumed was Hilary. I could not believe what I saw.  
  
It took me a moment to take it all in. There she was, the girl that broke my heart so many years ago, looking gorgeous as always. She was wearing a simple black dress, with her dark brown hair pulled into an elegant bun. Lizzie had sort of a natural glow to her, and I was shocked to see that maybe I still held a candle for her.  
  
"Lizzie?!"  
  
She gulped, and exclaimed, "Gordo?!"  
  
Everyone else in the room looked at each other with looks of confusion.  
  
"You two know each other?" Adam Mercer asked, breaking the silence.  
  
"I can't work with him," she said, running upstairs. As she ran up the stairs, I heard the muffled sounds of tears.  
  
Everyone around whispered with confusion.  
  
"This should be interesting," I stated.   
  
Adam looked very confused, and he soon ran after his fiancee, with Mike following.  
  
Kevin raised his eyebrows in my direction.  
  
"So...you know each other?" he said with a trace of laughter.  
  
"Yeah, well it's a long story. She broke my heart a long time ago," I said, and I gestured towards the upstairs. "I really doubt that they want to see us anymore."  
  
"Let's go get something to eat, and you can tell me the story."  
  
"Hold on," I said, and I pulled paper and a pen out of my pocket. I scribbled a quick note to Lizzie:  
  
Dear Lizzie,  
  
I think that there are a lot of unresolved issues that we need to talk about. Not that I am pressuring you to talk or anything, but I feel that I need to talk to you. If you feel the same way, meet me at Central Park tomorrow at two o'clock in the afternoon. If you don't feel the same, don't come, and we will live the rest of our lives with these unanswered questions.  
  
Gordo  
  
I folded the note, and put it by her shoes, where she was bound to find it.  
  
"Ready to go?" Kevin asked me, looking at his watch.  
  
"Yeah," I replied, giving one last look to the note before we headed out the door.  
  
------  
  
After I finished my whirlwind account of what happened with Lizzie and I for our entire life, Kevin put down his sandwich so he could ask a question.  
  
"So she cheated on you during spring break?"  
  
"Basically," I said, with my mouth full of food. "But you know, I was kind of suspicious. That was really un-Lizzie-like."  
  
"How do you mean?"  
  
"Lizzie could never cheat on anyone, and even if she did, she would apologize the moment she got back."  
  
Kevin stopped eating completely, and looked at me, shaking his head.  
  
"Daniel...I mean, Gordo...I can't believe you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You still love her," he said, still shaking his head in disappointment.  
  
"No, I don't."  
  
"Listen to yourself. It wasn't really her fault, Lizzie would never do that," he said in a falsetto voice, imitating Gordo. "You still are in LUV. Gordo, she is engaged to be married."  
  
I looked down at my feet, remembering that she was engaged.  
  
"I didn't think I loved her. But, there has always been something missing in my life, and when I saw her, I just felt something new..something good. Something that I have not felt for a long time."  
  
Kevin still shook his head in disappointment.  
  
"You're pathetic."  
  
------------------  
  
I looked at my watch again. 1:55  
  
Lizzie might come any minute now. Or she could not be coming, and I could be standing out here for awhile.  
  
I took special care getting ready that day. I put on my favorite pair of cords, and a black blazer with a casual t-shirt underneath. On my feet, I had my trusty converses, which I pretty much wore to every big event. It took me a while longer to brush my hair, because I was trying to get it to calm down. I wanted sleek, sexy hair in my eyes, and not white guy with an afro hair.  
  
As I was thinking about my outfit, a woman dressed in a sweatsuit, baseball cap, and sunglasses walked by, taking her morning jog. However, she also had a six-year old little girl with her, who was walking alongside her, holding her hand. The woman walked back and forth a couple of times, until she finally slowly walked up to me.  
  
"Gordo..." she said slowly, as she took off her sunglasses. It was Lizzie, and once again I was blown away by her beauty.  
  
"Lizzie," I also said slowly, taking in her appearance. "We really need to talk."  
  
"I know we do," she said, as she pointed to the little girl, who was now sitting on the bench not so far away, playing with her doll. "I brought her along...so you could see your mistake."  
  
Her statement hit me like a hard punch in the stomach.  
  
"My mistake?"  
  
"Those were your words, not mine," she said calmly, as if she had been wanting to say this for years.  
  
"I never said that."  
  
"Yes you did. In the letter that you left me, saying that you wanted nothing to do with our daughter."  
  
Our daughter?  
  
"I...have a daughter?" I asked slowly. "I'm a father?"  
  
"Quit acting like you didn't know," she said angrily, and her statement angered me as well.  
  
"How are you sure it's even mine?" I retorted, and I could see tears forming in her eyes.  
  
"David Gordon, what are you saying about me?" she asked through her tears.  
  
"Quit acting like you didn't know," I replied. "Let me ask you one question...was Adam the guy that you left me for?"  
  
Lizzie was crying now, and her carefully applied mascara was running down her cheeks.  
  
"I never left you for anyone, Gordo."  
  
"You left me for the guy you met on spring break...in Florida."  
  
"Gordo, I went to visit my grandparents in Florida, and you knew that," she said, enraged, but still crying.  
  
We both paused for a second and looked at each other.  
  
"Lizzie...did you write me a note that said that you met someone during spring break. Someone that you loved with all your heart?"  
  
"No!" she exclaimed. "I loved you with all my heart, but you broke it when you adbandoned me and Kylie."  
  
"I didn't even know about Kylie."  
  
"You didn't?" she asked, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "But what about the note?"  
  
"I never wrote a note."  
  
"Didn't your parents tell you? I told them before you, and I told them that I planned to keep the baby."  
  
"No," I said, now saddened that for six years, I had a daughter, and I didn't know her. "All I knew was that you never really loved me, and you were leaving me for somebody else. The next thing I knew, you were gone."  
  
"My parents kicked me out of the house. I have not even spoke a word to them ever since."  
  
I wrapped Lizzie into a hug.  
  
"I am so sorry," I said. I was trying my hardest not to cry, but I could not help it when Kylie walked over.  
  
"What's the matter mommy?" she asked Lizzie. "Who is this guy?"  
  
Lizzie bent down on her knees to meet Kylie's eyes.  
  
"Kylie...this is your dad."  
  
Kylie looked at me with unsureness, and I bent down as well. She stepped closer to Lizzie, not knowing what to think of me.  
  
"Hi, Kylie. I'm Gordo, but you can call me Dad," I said, trying my best to sound normal.  
  
"Hi...Dad."  
  
I hugged her, pulling her very close to me. She looked a lot like me..she had my hair, my eyes...she was my daughter. I was a father. No matter how many times I ran it through my head, I almost couldn't believe it.  
  
I stood back up, and so did Lizzie.  
  
"Well, I guess we should make up for lost time."  
  
She smiled, and put her sunglasses back on.  
  
"Do you want to do something?" she asked. "Zoo, shop, museum?"  
  
"How about dinner and a movie?" I asked, trying to hint at something between us.  
  
"Gordo...I'm engaged to Adam."  
  
My face fell with disappointment.  
  
"I know, but..."  
  
"Gordo, I can't...I won't. It's best for my career that we get married."  
  
"Why can't you do anything that you want to do?"  
  
"This is something that I want to do. I don't want to be a single mother again."  
  
As she said that, I looked back up at her. She was smiling, and I noticed that she was holding her , I guess."  
  
"Thanks, I guess."  
  
There was an awkward pause, and we looked into each others' eyes. The next thing I knew, our lips met in a passionate embrace.  
  
She suddenly broke away.  
  
"Gordo, I love you more than anything."  
  
I looked at her face again.  
  
"Wow."  
  
We started to kiss again.  
  
"I can't see you," she said.  
  
I stepped away.  
  
"We can meet in private," she suggested. "Nobody must know."  
  
This time, Kylie stepped between us.  
  
"Are you guys going to get married now?"  
  
We both laughed, and I picked Kylie up in my arms. The three of us went back to Lizzie's townhouse, where Lizzie and I talked some more. Even though we still loved each other, there were still some issues to work out. The day had been a whirlwind of feelings, and both of us knew that even though we got so quickly back together, not every feeling was mended.  
  
Little did we know, that there were camera flashes the entire time, documenting our every movement. 


End file.
